Dr. Kim Given Jail Sentence

for Practicing in Korea  

Chang Gyu Kim, BS, MS, DC

 

In March 1998, Dr. Chang Gyu Kim was arrested for practicing Chiropractic in Korea. He was given a jail sentence for one year, a penalty of £†2,000,000. After appeal of the Korean Court’s first trial, he was granted a stay of execution of sentence for two years. He was also given a respite by the Korean high court’s 2nd trial. He then appealed to the Korean Supreme Court. He will appeal to the Constitutional Court if Korea’s Supreme Court finds him guilty.

      Dr. Kim graduated from Kongju National Teachers College with a B.S. degree and received a Masters Degree from the graduate school of Kyunghee

University. Before he decided to become a chiropractor, he taught middle school for 12 years in Korea. Afterwards, he went to the U.S. where he graduated from Life University’s Chiropractic School. He then returned to practice chiropractic in Korea in 1996.

      The chiropractic situation in Korea is complicated by about 50,000 pseudo chiropractors who learned “therapy by hands” from the Japanese since 1970. These non-degreed practitioners are under the name of Sports Massage, Energy Therapy, adjusting the spine, and/or about 900 Oriental Medical Doctors (O.M.D.). The OMD’s learned some chiropractic technique through several Seminars from 15 DCs in the beginning Korean Chiropractic Association. The OMDs use the equipment and technique of chiropractic, but term it as “Chuna Technique.”

      While Chiropractors have no practice act, MDs, OMDs, Physical therapist, and medical personnel can use chiropractic legally under existing law in Korea. OMDs have received an authoritative interpretation for using chiropractic equipment and “Chuna Technique” (only for them) in Korea from the Ministry of Health & Welfare.

      About 600 MDs, who have learned chiropractic from seminars, use chiropractic under the name of “restitution medical.” Also Physical therapist use chiropractic technique by the name of “therapy by hand.”

      Currently in Korea, there are about 60 DCs who graduated from chiropractic school in the USA or Australia, including 12 persons who graduated from the new Hanseo University School of Chiropractic (associated with RMIT of Australia), but these DCs’ practices are considered to be illegal under existing Korean law.

      Dr. Kim is in need of assistance to continue his lawsuit while not being allowed to practice. If you wish to help, please send a donation to: Kookmin

Bank in South Korea, Account No. 084-21-0619-622, Beneficiary: Kim, ChangGyu, @ Chirospor, 2nd Fl., Seogwang Bldg., 908-14, Bangbae-1 dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, Korea, (Telephone: (02)-3473-3422).www.chirospor.com  / www.jase.co.kr  /

www.posture.co.kr